1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for distributing groceries that are ordered over the Internet, or by some other remote means such as by phone, email, or fax.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some grocers have in recent years sought to develop businesses in which a full line of groceries may be sold over the Internet as an alternative to in-store sales. Selling merchandise over the Internet eliminates the need to maintain an abundance of sales personnel and thereby reduces costs. However, costs remain unnecessarily high for these Internet grocers because they have sought to emulate the business model of a conventional supermarket. Thus, they offer a full array of products, including both perishable and non-perishable items, and promise quick delivery, such as delivery within 30 minutes.
To meet these goals, the Internet grocers have established an abundance of warehouses for stocking the groceries in close proximity to each service area to which the groceries are to be delivered. The amount of capital required to maintain multiple warehouses in each neighborhood has limited the potential to achieve profitability as well as the business' ability to expand the number of areas they can service.
Moreover, in the existing business model, delivery people also serve as customer service personnel who interact with the customers by handling customer orders and complaints. It is difficult to find an abundance of qualified people who have the requisite customer relations skills and who are willing to perform such multiple responsibilities at a reasonable cost, particularly during prosperous economic times when the available labor pool is relatively small.
In an effort to service areas outside their local delivery areas, some Internet grocers offer to ship non-perishable groceries via an overnight delivery service. But the Internet grocers have found it challenging, if not impossible, to find an economical method of delivering perishable groceries, including dairy products, meats, frozen goods, and fresh fruits and vegetables outside of their local delivery areas without the groceries becoming spoiled. Perishables may be delivered without spoilage in refrigerated delivery trucks. However, refrigerating the delivery trucks is extremely expensive, results in increased pollution levels, and wastes a great deal of energy, particularly where the truck is filled with both perishables as well as non-perishables that do not require refrigeration.
It would be advantageous to have an alternative method of quickly and economically delivering groceries, which requires fewer resources, including fewer customer service personnel, and less capital outlay per area served.